Sly & Robbie is a bass and drums duo, one of the most prolific and long-lasting in reggae. The rhythm section of drummer Lowell Dunbar (nicknamed Sly after Sly Stone, one of his favorite musicians) and bassist Robert Shakespeare began in the 1970s, after having established themselves independently on the Jamaican music scene.
They are usually referred to humorously by Sly Drumbar (from Drums - drums in English) and Robbie Basspeare (from Bass - bass in English), as for example in the notes of the album "Red", by Black Uhuru.
Sly and Robbie may possibly be the most prolific studio artists in the world. According to one estimate, he would have performed or produced around 200,000 songs, considering that some of his riddims, such as "Revolution", were used in more than 100 songs. In 2007 they participated in the recording of Vanessa da Mata's album "Sim".
The duo has worked with the biggest names in world reggae such as Black Uhuru, Bunny Wailer, Culture, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, I Wayne, Ini Kamoze, The Itals, Jacob Miller, Linval Thompson, Mighty Diamonds and many, MANY others. Despite having a better known name due to reggae, Sly and Robbie's talent and professionalism transcended Jah's rhythm. Names like Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones), Britney Spears, Madonna, Joe Cocker, Fugees and even Bob Dylan, are just a few important names that have had this duo's magic touch in the production of their records. Below are some albums from Sly and Robbie's career.